On Tuesday morning, Cleveland Browns defensive end Marcus Benard plead not guilty to two traffic charges given to him following his October 10th motorcycle accident, according to CBS. Benard was allegedly driving at "a high rate of speed" and swerved across a four-lane interstate to slam into a guardrail, sustaining a broken hand and other injuries that would earn him a reckless operation and a driving under suspension charge, both of which he plead not guilty to.
His attorney, Patrick D'Angelo, faxed in the plea for his recovering client. It's hard to imagine someone being flung an estimated 241 feet without driving recklessly, outside of somebody else being the source of his collision, which might just be his defense, something that happens a lot for reckless operation charges.
The accident also landed Benard on the injured reserve list for the season, meaning he won't be back until 2012. For the 26-year-old who fought his way off of a practice squad to become the team's sack leader, it's a pretty devastating injury.